


"things you said when you thought I was asleep" - Family

by likestoimagine



Category: The Secret Saturdays
Genre: Gen, Or prompt fic?, fic prompt, well it's one or the other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-12
Updated: 2017-05-12
Packaged: 2018-10-31 02:59:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 788
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10890267
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/likestoimagine/pseuds/likestoimagine
Summary: Doyle doesn't expect to find his nephew sleeping in the pterosaur nest when he goes out to check on her. Then again, he didn't expect to have a nephew either, and the kid's the best thing to have ever happened to him





	"things you said when you thought I was asleep" - Family

**Author's Note:**

  * For [TheCookieMonster77](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheCookieMonster77/gifts).



Doyle is fairly certain of what he expects to see when he goes out to say good night to Jurassic, and it is very much not his nephew sitting curled up with her, half covered by one of her wings and holding a cup of what presumably used to be warmed milk in his lap. 

 

Zon looks up and clicks softly as Doyle approaches, clearly expressing that Zak is asleep and not to be woken. Doyle has to agree, considering that they ran the Weird World gauntlet not three days ago. If the kid is finally getting sleep after all those nightmares, he’s _staying_ asleep.

 

…Doyle might have been here too long, if he can understand Zon’s crooning. But then again, they speak the language of loving Zak, so maybe that’s enough. 

 

In any case, they both agree that, even if Zak is asleep, he should be asleep in his actual bed, with actual pillows and blankets, so Doyle makes his way over to the duo with the intention to get Zak there. 

 

He stops after picking up the kid, because he needs to find his way out of the nest when carrying an unwieldily, unconscious 11-year-old in his arms. He probably should have planned this better, but he didn’t realize how tall the nest would be without the benefit of using his arms to prop himself up.

 

Theoretically, he could just hoist Zak over his shoulder in a fireman’s carry, but he’s not actually going to subject his nephew to that if there’s no rush, so he’s stuck until Zon comes up behind him. 

 

She helps to prop him out of the nest, leveraging him out with a level of dexterity and critical thought that he’d never have expected from an animal, let alone a pterosaur that’s not supposed to be alive right now. Doyle’s family is a strange one, alright.

 

…Doyle _having_ a family is a strange thing, actually. And yet, here he is, climbing out of a pterosaur’s nest to carry the youngest and most precious member of his family back to bed. 

 

It’s _domestic,_ in a way that he’s not used to. Doyle has lived most of his life in the dark underbelly of the world, where everyone is nocturnal and the quiet is cause for alarm, but out here, in the woods? It’s tranquil. Settled. Calm. Maybe it’s not normal, but it’s slowly becoming _his_ normal, and he wouldn’t have it any other way.

 

He can’t exactly rest easy, because the past isn’t something he can forget so quickly, but here, he rests easier. He’s surrounded by humans and cryptids he trusts, here. 

 

Zak shifts in his arms, head turning to settle on his shoulder. Doyle glances down at him, at dinosaur pajamas and chubby preteen cheeks and fluffy piebald black-and-white hair, and he can’t help but smile. 

 

Something in the quiet makes him want to talk, so Doyle murmurs, “I don’t think I ever said thank you, you know?”

 

He pauses, shifting his grip on Zak before continuing on to his bedroom. “You were the first person who ever believed in me, who thought I could be better than I was. Back in Ellef Ringnes and with the Alkali Lake Monster, and even though I was your enemy… well, Drew is my sister, but you’re the one who gave me family. You’re the one who convinced me to come back, and to stay.”

 

Another pause, as he tries to figure out right leverage to actually open the sliding door. Doyle ends up balancing himself on one foot so that he keep Zak steady and free up his hand for it. He probably looks ridiculous, but it also keeps mini-man comfortable, and between his dignity and the kid, Zak is going to win every time. 

 

It’s only a short walk to Zak’s room after that, and a quick look-over to make sure that Zak is clean enough for bed. Fortunately, Jurrasic is good about keeping her nest clear, so Doyle can put the mini-man to bed without worrying too much about grime. 

 

He pulls blankets over Zak’s shoulder and lightly ruffles his hair, and… doesn’t move quite yet. Doyle’s smile is soft, softer than he can show to even his family right now, as he says, “If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t…”

 

Doyle pauses, then steels himself to continue, because Zak isn’t awake to hear anyways, “If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t know what love was. So, you know, thanks for that. See you tomorrow, mini-man.”

 

He gives Zak one last (soft) hair ruffle and leaves, making sure to shut the door quietly behind him. He misses it when Zak’s eye cracks open, and when he smiles, “Good night, uncle Doyle.”


End file.
